Maya's Quest

Prologue

Hey there reader! The love for writing and the inability to resist a challenge has inspired this spin-off story in the near past of present day Lionea. In the spirit of #JustWriteIt, this story shall be written right off the bat i.e. no serious editing, no complex planning, none of that! But first,  in order to understand the plight of the lead character in this story, it's important to understand the nature of the 'Olympic-like' games in Lionea, known as The Glories.

THE GLORIES are a set of eight Inter-Provincial annual games that are geared towards driving military and technological development within Lionea. In the absence of war, these games provide the platform for the citizens to express their prowess and attain honor and glory. Hence, they constitute a vital aspect of the Lionea's culture. They are described as follows:

Swordsman's Glory: Involves the use of swords. Prior to the actual games, each province conducts a miniature version in order to select a representative. The first stage of the main game comprises of five matches, involving two provinces in each match. The match-up is selected through a random ballot process. The winners of the matches qualify into the second round where each fighter takes on the other fighters individually. Hence, each fighter fights four times and the total number of matches in this stage is ten. The two fighters with the highest number of points at the end of this round shall qualify to face each other in the final match-up. The winner obtains the Glory and will reign as champion for one year. The rules are simple: no major injuries, no fatalities. Each match shall last for no more than an hour. Within that time, a contestant can win a match by disarming his opponent and placing him at sword point; this merits five points. Otherwise, if the duration expires, the contestant who delivered the higher number of cuts wins; this merits three points. Points are only used as the selection criteria in the second round. The first and final round matches are determined strictly by winning.

Spearman's Glory: Other than the fact that spears are the weapon of choice, the rules are the same as those of the Swordsman's Glory.

Martial's Glory: Similar in organization to the Swordsman and Spearman's Glories, this competition involves hand-to-hand combat only. In place of cuts, hits are used and in place of disarming an opponent, an outright win is achieved by one when his/her opponent fails to stand upright for ten counts.

Archer's Glory: Ten contestants, one from each province stand on a line at the same level and aim for a target, fifty deer-runs away in the first round. Each archer has only one shot per round. Those who fail to hit the target do not qualify for the next round. The target will continuously be shifted further away by twenty-five deer-runs in subsequent rounds until only one archer remains.

Rider's Glory: Accuracy and speed are tested in this challenge. In the first round, ten contestants, one from each province, circumnavigate the Outer Main Road. A thousand hurdles per lane are placed throughout the course. For each failed hurdle, the rider loses one point. At the end of the course, the top five contestants with the most points qualify for the next round. Let no rider be fooled into thinking he can take the course slowly, for the course must be completed in no longer than six hours and this is no small feat! The second round is focused on speed. The five qualifying riders shall compete for glory in a two hundred deer-run sprint race. The contestant who crosses the finish line first wins.

Diver's Glory: Resilience during under-water covert operations is tested in this challenge. In the first round, five hidden treasures are buried on the sea bed in a selected area in the shallow offshore region of Lionea. Of ten contestants, only the five who retrieve the treasures qualify to the final round. At the start of the final round, the qualifying five submerge themselves in water. The one who remains longest wins.

Strag's Glory: A Strag competition involving one representative from each province.

Craftsman'sGlory: Similar to atechnological exhibition, craftsmen, one per province, display innovativecreations at a trade fair. The craftsman whose product records the highestnumber of sales wins.

There you have it! Now that you're familiar with the nature of The Glories, it's time to follow the courageous Maya Sint as she attempts to defy all odds in the games...

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